Michael Bower is a horror buff who runs a horror movie club at school and who has mastered most videogames out there. One day he hears about this new hypnotic videogame called Brainscan that is supposed to be the ultimate horror experience, and even though he's a bit skeptical he of course still wants to try the game out. The game is delivered to his house shortly after and he sits down to test it out.
When playing Brainscan he gets to witnesses a brutal murder through the eyes of the killer. The mission of the game is to, within a time frame, complete a killing and without leaving any trace return home before the time's up. He manages do to so and when finished playing, he's convinced that Brainscan's the best game he has ever played. Later on when watching the news on tv, he realizes that what happened in the game actually happened for real, and if that wasn't enough, he finds proof of the slaying in his freezer. Did he commit the crime for real?
Brainscan is definitely a really cool and original horror flick, and it feels like it's a bit of an underrated 90's movie, while infact it is a movie that should not be missed. The whole videogame concept is extremely cool and the storyline is solid and interesting. It's well acted, well shot and it's sure fun to see a young Edward Furlong as the lonely horror buff who gets caught up in the game. For you who haven't seen Brainscan, you don't have to be into videogames to be able to enjoy the movie, it has more than that to it. But for people who are actually into videogames, it of course adds a little more to the whole thing.
Michael Bower lost his mother at young age and is a lonely boy who only have one true friend. He has lost interest in most thing and for life in general, and escapes it by watching horror flicks and playing videogames. He also has a crush on the girl next door and watches her through his window, but is too afraid to do anything about it. He gets this new game called Brainscan, plays it and end up being all excited about how cool the game actually turned out to be. But what happened in the game also happened for real and he finds himself in a heap of trouble being a killer and all.
Then all of a sudden this man named Trickster shows up who looks like half a man, half a monster dressed like he's into punk music or the extreme. He tells Michael that Michael's in trouble because of the murder that took place in the game. That he has left some evidence but that there's also a way out, and that way is to play the second disc. After playing the second disc, Trickster shows up again, letting Michael know that there was a witness and that he must play the third disc to eliminate that witness. It seems Michael can't escape it and drags himself deeper and deeper into the mess, and with the police around the neighbourhood asking him and people in his class all kinds of questions.
Brainscan has such a good story that grabs the viewers attention and it's hard not to stay interested. It might have a few flaws here and there, and might feel a tiny bit ridiculous at times, but overall it's a great movie that truly is a lot of fun to watch. Even if the movie deals with murders, we don't get to see any real gore since Brainscan is more of a psychological horror/thriller movie, and that is a concept that works well here. Being a horror movie, it's not scary but is intense at times and that's enough to make it work. Also, it features a pretty decent score.
Among 90's horror movies, Brainscan is a definitive must see. It's a original movie with a really interesting story, it's also fast-paced and does never have a really dull moment. The acting is good for most parts, and even if some actors seem a little off, they're still totally watchable. And like I said before, you don't have to be into videogames to enjoy Brainscan, it's just a really good movie, simple as that. Recommended.
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ALTERNATIVE TITLE:
MOVIE YEAR: 1994
DIRECTOR: John Flynn
WRITING CREDITS: Brian Owens, Andrew Kevin Walker
GENRE: Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
CAST: Edward Furlong, Frank Langella, T. Ryder Smith
COUNTRY: Canada, USA, UK
RUNTIME: 96 min
RATING: 8/10
Brainscan Website/IMDB Click here
Brainscan Trailer Click here
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